THE CULT OF THE BOSS
A BRIEF HISTORY
There was once a time in which legends walked the land and men overcame incredible challenges to become gods.
This is no such tale.
Instead our story begins with a nameless con artist and a gullible priest who briefly travelled together in what would one day become the Company of Crossed Swords. The con artist was planning to start a cult as a means of easy riches and saw the gullible priest as a suitable mark.
Before the con artist could enact his plan, however, he was turned to stone in a most unfortunate twist of events. Caught trespassing by Rainier d'Inverness, Count of Morlay, the con artist attempted to negotiate by seizing the count's first born son, an infant, and holding it over his head as if to dash the squealing babe onto the rocks. D'Inverness reacted by casting a spell that turned the con artist into stone. In an act of graciousness, the rest of the party was allowed to leave.
Some would consider the con artist's actions to be appalling, but the gullible priest was intrigued by the impulsive randomness behind it, and the fact that no matter how the situation played out, the results would inevitably be in the extreme.
Upon returning home, the priest renounced his faith in the Builder and began crafting some informational pamphlets, which he distributed amongst his fellow travelers. Thus the Cult of the Boss was born.
THE EARLY DAYS
Hamish the Dim is the original High Priest of the Boss, and his original followers include Immortus, boy wizard, and Pog, the surly dwarf. Some argue that neither Immortus or Pog were great believers, but merely wanted to appease their apparently insane traveling companion.
Hamish's street preaching also attracted the attention of a young initiate of the Builder, Lem, who would become the cult's second-in-command.
The early days of the cult were marked by road-side preaching and off-the-cuff conversions. In most cases, these conversions occured post-humously, as the early days of the Company of Crossed Swords were fraught with ridiculous body-counts. A shrine to the Boss was erected on the grounds of the D'Inverness estate, and the deceased Bossmen were interred beneath the the petrified statue of their god.
THE WAGON OF 1,000 CORPSES
As the controversy of the Boss grew, a disaster shook the faith. The original Shrine to the Boss was destroyed by Rainier d'Inverness's agents. Luckily, Lem was able to rescue the petrified body of the Boss. He also had the foresight to dig up the bodies of the fallen Bossmen.
Since he was already playing the role of a wandering preacher, Hamish decided that it would be best to take the entire religion along with him. He purchased a large wagon in which he stored the cult's religious artifacts. On the side, in brightly-colored paint, he wrote, "COME SEE THE WONDER OF THE BOSS."
At this point, the cult started to attract the attention of the down-trodden and the criminally insane. Who else would be interested in a religion based on random, wild chance? Soon a small entourage of vagrants began to accompany Hamish on his adventures.
It also attracted the attention of Glantri's more established faiths. The Church the Builder tried to infiltrate the cult with spies, but they all died of mysterious circumstances. However, Hamish found it difficult to gain acceptance by city officials and frequently had to make odd deals to receive permission to use his divine magicks.
THE TOWER OF THE BOSS
Tired of wandering, Hamish claimed a small tower at the outskirts of the Chateau d'Amberville as the official headquarters of the faith. It was around this time that the Second Miracle of the Boss occured.
Immortus, the boy wizard, had been killed months earlier while defending Bill the Mule from certain death. His corpse was interred beneath the Boss, and later spent several months rattling around in the back of the Wagon of 1,000 Corpses. The healing energy of the Boss gradually restored the young wizard, who much to Hamish's surprise, crawled out of the wagon.
Since then, Hamish has retreated to his tower to meditate and write holy scriptures. He his attended by Lem, Immortus, and half-a-dozen babbling zealots.